Meet The Doe Fund: Pt. 3
A series on the guys who keep the neighborhood beautiful
January 23, 2018
Meet Mr. Flowers, a lead supervisor for The Doe Fund in Downtown Brooklyn.
We are telling his story as part of our series on The Doe Fund. Read out more about the organization here.
Mr. Flowers is a Bronx native who, apart from a stint in the military, has spent his entire life in NYC. After returning from military service, he got into a life that he said wasn’t for him. Selling drugs landed him in jail just once, and that was enough for him to decide that he wanted a better for himself and needed to find a way of achieving it.
That’s where The Doe Fund (TDF) came in. Mr. Flowers joined The Doe Fund as a trainee, and worked his way up to supervising the Court Street Livingston Business Improvement District (BID) Doe Fund team, then to managing TDF supervisors across all three BIDs that the Downtown Brooklyn Partnership oversees. He acquired his car and truck driver’s licenses through TDF, and despite being able to make more money as a truck driver, he stays with TDF because he wants to help those who, like him, have joined the program to create better lives for themselves. He loves to teach trainees, and also to learn from some of our very own here at DBP. Jerome Wiggins, Service Manager, and Herbert Barr, Field Operations Manager for DBP, were also once TDF trainees alongside Mr. Flowers. They continue to work together to keep Downtown Brooklyn clean and safe, and inspire each other with their positivity.
Beyond becoming head supervisor, Mr. Flowers has evolved immensely since working with TDF. Thanks to the help of DBP’s Managing Director of Operations, Ryan Grew, Mr. Flowers was able to see his mother in Florida for the first time in 34 years. He saved enough money to get his own car and his own apartment in the Bronx. His children and his girlfriend tell him how proud of him they are, and, most importantly, he is proud of himself and how much he has grown.
Even though he has come so far, Mr. Flowers feels capable of even more: “I’m happy with what I’m doing, but now I feel that there’s something else I can reach. I’m still reaching for the stars.” Keep reaching for the stars Mr. Flowers! We are proud of you too!
The series continues with Part 4 here.
